Berserkers
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = * |defense = |resist = * |hits = |abilities = Thrown 3 }} Berserkers are a type of Normal Unit unique to the Barbarian Race. For a Construction Cost of , they can be created in any Barbarian Town housing an Armorers' Guild. Berserkers are slow, powerful close combat infantry - one of the strongest in the game. Their can not only increase their output when making voluntary attacks, but also allow the Berserkers to engage enemies on their own terms. Berserkers require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Berserkers are a group of burly men with red hair and beards, dressed only in brown trousers. They each carry a large, two-handed sword, used for cleaving the enemy, as well as throwing axes to chuck at them before charging in for the kill. Berserkers are the culmination of a culture of fighting traditions, trained to unleash their rage during combat, with little regard for personal safety - but the rage also gives them high resistance to pain and thus the ability to continue fighting much longer than regular soldiers. Berserkers are a , containing up to warriors. Attack Properties Berserkers possess a base Melee Strength of . However, since they typically start out as , and in fact never appear in the game as , their initial score can be considered to be . This yields in an average "raw" output of per , which is quite high for a Normal Unit. With all 6 Berserkers attacking simultaneously, this can be devastating to low tier units, and may amount to significant injuries even against well-armored opponents. Like most Barbarians, Berserkers also have a . Whenever they initiate a Melee Attack against an enemy unit, they will precede the "mutual melee" with a short-range attack. While this has an initial strength of only , as indicated by the magnitude of the Berserkers' Thrown ability, it also benefits from , and is thus increased to at the level. As a result, each Berserker does an average of points of "raw" with this attack. also have two advantages. First, they are executed before the enemy could retaliate, which means that any they cause may reduce the amount of enemy that can strike back at the Berserkers during melee. Second, they allow the unit to engage opponents, which units without special abilities are normally incapable of. On the other hand, this Attack Type only works on voluntary attacks - the Berserkers can't use it when Counter Attacking against an enemy assault. It's also worth noting that most effects that can enhance the Melee Attacks of non-Hero units typically improve as well, often by the same magnitude, meaning that Berserkers gain double benefits from them. The only exceptions are , , and Holy Bonus, which do not increase Attack Strength; while and Leadership grant only half their Melee Strength bonus to . In the latest official version of the game, and the increase of enhanced weapon qualities also do not affect . However, this is actually a bug rather than a feature, and is fixed starting with the unofficial Insecticide patch. Defensive Properties Berserkers have a keen sense of the surrounding battle, granting them a Defense score of - roughly equivalent to light-medium armor. This allows them to avoid about points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average. In addition, Berserkers are quite used to pain, having each, and can keep fighting long after a normal man would collapse. They also possess a fairly high initial Resistance score of , which is increased to by their elevated starting level, offering them a decent chance to shrug off most Unit Curses and other combat maledictions. While it's far from complete immunity, it can get better with further , as can the other two statistics. Other Properties Berserkers move at a slow , and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties. Basic Strategy Berserkers are the most powerful land unit that may be recruited in Barbarian Towns. They are durable, and very strong on the offense - with the right tactics, they can easily take out most low- and mid-tier enemy units, whether Normal or Fantastic, and match up fairly well with the high tier units of other Races. Once available, Berserkers will typically form the backbone of a Barbarian empire's armies, replacing Barbarian Swordsmen. They are relatively cheap considering their power, being superior to Swordsmen in almost every respect except ranged . Berserkers need little more than a single line of Town Buildings to enable. However, with the exception of the Smithy, none of their required buildings have any economical value, which means that they are usually not worth constructing outside of Towns designated as recruitment centers. As such, Berserkers are most often produced either in the player's starting City, or a settlement created specifically for this purpose. Naturally, the former is more favorable early in the game, since it not only has some already existing population, but also comes with a Barracks pre-built. From there, it takes an Armory, a Fighters' Guild, and an Armorers' Guild, for a total Construction Cost of , to make Berserkers available for recruitment. As mentioned above, due to a bug in the latest official version of the game, the bonus granted by or higher grade weapons does not apply to the of the Berserkers. This has an impact on the priority of constructing an Alchemists' Guild for them, since without any nearby weapon crafting materials, it will only benefit the unit's Melee Damage, which is often high enough even without this bonus, rendering the structure less important. Consequently, the most pressing reason for creating a new recruitment Town for Berserkers is often the discovery of either Mithril- or Adamantium Ore, that can improve their and as well, which both increase their staying power. Their dual attacks and high count also make Berserkers prime targets for Unit Enchantments, particularly the offensive ones. , , , , , , and can all enhance their pre-melee , making them less likely to suffer any injuries themselves. Of course, this assumes that they are mostly making voluntary attacks, but that is generally the single most important tactical consideration anyway when employing Berserkers, since otherwise they can not use their at all. Berserkers have one major shortcoming: their lack of speed. Because of this, they will often need some kind of support when going up against Ranged Attack units or spellcasters. While they may be able to shrug off the arrows of low-tier Normal Units firing at them from a distance, anything more advanced will threaten to reduce their numbers before the they can engage the enemy. One way to alleviate this is to group the Berserkers with other units that are cheaper, yet more appealing targets, such as Bowmen or Shamans, but that can present a logistical problem in having to constantly replenish those units. Instead, it may be better to just bring more Berserkers, and be prepared to accept some losses. Of course, the best way is probably to try and offset this weakness by magic. Wizards have a clear advantage here with , and later ; but the Common can also be very helpful, especially when combined with spells that improve . The last option is , but that is quite a gamble in the official game, as it will cripple the Berserkers one out of three times by replacing their with a much weaker . The and Realms have nothing to offer in the way of enhancing combat movement, but they can still make the Berserkers faster overland through and . While Barbarians can't rely on being able to construct Roads to speed up their armies, they are skilled ship builders, and have access to the entire naval Town Building line. Therefore, as long as they have, or can settle a coastal City, they can exploit Transport vessels to ferry Berserkers around fairly quickly, with the only problematic destinations being those that are deep inland. For longer campaigns, Berserkers can benefit greatly from a trailing unit of Barbarian Shamans. Unlike lower tier infantry that are fragile and often destroyed in battle, Berserkers can usually survive if they withdraw from the front line after suffering casualties. However, unless aided by magic, they heal rather slowly, whereas a single ally with the Healer ability can restore one fallen Berserker in every unit that ends its turn on the same overland tile with it. For maximum effect though, the healer needs to be created after the Berserkers in the latest official version of the game, as otherwise a bug will negate the unit's own natural healing. Ability Overview Thrown 3 * Whenever this unit makes a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy target, it also delivers a Thrown Attack with a base strength of per . * As a short-range attack, this is executed before the enemy gets a chance to retaliate. Any in the target unit that are killed by the attack do not get to deliver any Melee Damage. * This attack does not occur when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant. However, it does enable its possessor to initiate Melee Attacks against units regardless of its own Movement Type. Experience Table The following table illustrates how Berserkers improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of "raw" that each in a unit of Berserkers will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Berserkers may be recruited in any Barbarian Town that has an Armorers' Guild already built. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Berserkers may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Arcanus. In this case, they cost between to to hire per unit, based on their - or half that much for Charismatic Wizards. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Barbarians